CAJ says job cuts a threat to free and vigorous press

The Canadian Association of Journalists is trying to get attention paid to what it fears is a potential death spiral for journalism in this country. What they fear? Job cuts = decline in quality = less content = smaller audiences = more cuts.

In the last three months alone more than 1,200 full-time employees have been let go [the CAJ said in a release].

"When do we reach the point in Canada where so many jobs are lost that our news becomes nothing more than rewritten press releases?" CAJ president Mary Agnes Welch said. "The decisions taken this fall will lead to more centralization of news in Canada, fewer opportunities for Canadians to learn from different voices and will threaten the very existence of quality local and investigative reporting..."

Many of these media organizations, such as Sun Media (600 jobs) and CanWest (560) were already lean, she noted.

Media owners are blaming the recession's impact on profits for the decision to lower costs by cutting jobs, cutting publishing days and reducing news-broadcast hours, [the statement went on.]

The economic downturn compounds the existing challenges of adapting to an increasingly fragmented media marketplace and the related loss of audiences and advertising revenue. Every major national private-sector media owner has cut its workforce in the last year, a list that also includes TorStar, Rogers Communications and CTVGlobemedia.

The CAJ is aware media companies, like all businesses, have to find a way to survive in these challenging times. At the same time, the CAJ remains deeply concerned that current trends represent a growing threat to a free and vigorous press.

The CAJ represents about 1,400 members across Canada.